Muttonbird

It’s 05 06 07 today! (if you use a sensible type of calendar ;-)).

Of course, that also means it’s two weeks today until my final exam for my sociolinguistics paper. So I should have been studying all weekend. Instead, I was being social 🙂 (hey, isn’t that what being a student is all about? socialising when you should be studying?)

Rarsberry and VivaRichie were in Christchurch for the weekend (and we thought otakuu would be too, but in the end she wasn’t able to make it), so of course we had to have a meetup. Saturday night was about the only time we’d all be available, so I offered to host the meetup at my place rather than us having to go to some noisy bar in town. Unfortunately, by the time we’d decided all this, it was a bit late notice for most people we invited, but at least the usual crowd turned up: lytteltonwitch, TheLetterB, and awhina and MrAwhina.

We had a great meetup anyway – discussed loads of ideas for 2009 (and even made a couple of firm decisions!), celebrated lytteltonwitch’s birthday with a ballycumber cake, and got all the latest wedding news from rarsberry.

[album 128913 050607cake2.jpg]


While I’m posting pictures of cake, here’s the space cake:

[album 128913 050607cake1.jpg]


On Sunday, lytteltonwitch and I decided that if Otakuu couldn’t come to Christchurch, we’d go to her. So we headed down south, and arrived at her place only to be told by the kids that she was asleep. I don’t think she minded us waking her up, though – she seemed happy (and incredibly surprised) to see us, especially when we “kidnapped” her and took her out for lunch! We had a lovely relaxing lunch in a nice cafe (where there were too many yummy things on the menu, so rather than having to choose we all ordered something different and shared), then wandered around the shops for a while.

When we got back to Otakuu’s, the kids had made a “party” for us out in the shed. Their choice of refreshments and reading choices (you can tell they’re growing up in a bookcrosser’s home, when they think books are essential for a good party!) were… um… interesting, but they were pretty proud of their efforts. A pity that by the time we arrived it was too cold to be sitting around outside, so after a few minutes we all retreated back inside where it was warm.

We had planned on leaving before dinner, but the temptation of paua and muttonbird was too much. Actually, muttonbird wasn’t so much a temptation as a curiosity – I’d never had it before, and although most people I know who have tried it said it was horrible, I still wanted to try it myself. Surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad – very weird (a smallish bird with dark meat that looks like beef or mutton (hence the English name, I guess), but tastes kind of like strong tuna (I managed to confuse everyone by saying that when I tasted it, because they thought I meant eel (the Maori word for which is tuna), which it’s nothing like)), but not unpleasant. I don’t think I could eat a huge portion of it (a bit too strong a taste for that), but ok in small quantities – definitely not as horrible as I’d anticipated, and at least now I can say I’ve tried it. New experiences are always good! 🙂

(I wouldn’t recommend eating muttonbird before a long car journey, though – it repeats rather forcefully. Good thing lytteltonwitch had a supply of peppermints in the car!)


In reply to Kimi’s comment about I, Robot, what you heard was exactly right. I’d read the book years ago, but when I saw the film (on TV – I wasn’t paying to see that dross!) I started doubting my memory, because absolutely nothing in the film seemed familiar. So I got the audiobook out of the library and was reassured to find that my memory wasn’t failing me after all – other than the title, and the names of a couple of the characters (Alfred Lanning, and Susan Calvin, whose character in the film is nothing like she is described in the book – for a start, in the book she’s 80-odd!), they have nothing at all in common. I can’t think of one scene in the film that even vaguely represents any of the stories in the book.


Currently reading: Sky Burial by Xinran
Currently listening to: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

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2 Comments

  1. That cake is adorable.

    The plate on the arm of the couch looks suspiciously like my Vernon Plaid dishes we use for every day. We had those dishes when I was a little girl, and I have always loved them. But it’s hard to tell with so little of it showing! Silly napkin!

  2. No, that wasn’t it was it?

    It certainly looked like Vernon Plaid under that napkin! 😉

    Good thing I wasn’t a witness in court eh?

    😉

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